HWN Suggests

Looking Back: E.coli O157:H7 and the Legacy of Dr. David Theno

Thirty years ago in January saw the beginning of what became known as "The Crisis" at Jack in the Box restaurants, when hundreds of customers became seriously ill after eating hamburgers containing Escherichia coli O157:H7. This illness outbreak—at the time, the largest in U.S. history—would claim four young lives, leave many others with lifelong health impairments, sicken over 700 people, and nearly ruin Foodmaker Inc., the parent company of Jack in the Box. Two years prior to this outbreak, in 1991, I spent my first Thanksgiving away from home at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Lompoc, California. At the time, I had no idea that Jack in the Box would become a defining part of my career in…

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Articles of Interest

A Brief Overview of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Its Plasmid O157

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a major foodborne pathogen causing severe disease in humans worldwide. Healthy cattle are a reservoir of E. coli O157:H7, and bovine food products and fresh produce contaminated with bovine waste are the most common sources for disease outbreaks in the United States. E. coli O157:H7 also survives well in the environment. The abilities to cause human disease, colonize the bovine gastrointestinal tract, and survive in the environment require that E. coli O157:H7 adapt to a wide variety of conditions.

E. coli, Nastier Than Ever–Cause for Comfort?

Well, we’re down now to seven weeks till Microcosm hits the book stores. Here and elsewhere I’m going to discuss some of the fascinating things I discovered about E. coli–and life in general–while working on the book. For instance, I came to have a grudging respect for the vicious strain of E. coli known as O157:H7, which has caused outbreaks in recent years in contaminated foods. The weaponry it uses to attack and subvert our cells is quite impressive. But my respect went up a notch more when scientists recently reported how E. coli O157:H7 has been continuing to evolve into an even nastier bug.

How one contaminated cow can infect millions of pounds of hamburgers

Ever since a deadly outbreak in 1994, the USDA has banned the sale of ground beef containing the dangerous O157:H7 E. coli strain. But thousands of Americans still end up in the hospital each year because of the pathogen.

Looking Back: The Story Behind Banning E. Coli O157:H7

The pathogen that changed it all – looking back to the monumental USDA decision to declare O157:H7 an adulterant in the wake of the 1993 Jack in the Box outbreak.

Swimming-associated outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7

Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks have frequently been associated with the consumption of contaminated food, particularly ground meat. Person-toperson transmission is also well described. Waterborne outbreaks have been less commonly reported amongst children swimming in paddling pools and lakes.

We Were There - E.coli O157

Video describing the 1993 E-coli outbreak and the subsequent changes in food safety regulation.

Resources

Escherichia coli O157:H7

A particular strain of E. coli known as E. coli O157:H7 causes a severe intestinal infection in humans. It is the most common strain to cause illness in people. It can be differentiated from other E. coli by the production of a potent toxin that damages the lining of the intestinal wall causing bloody diarrhea. It is also known as enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection.

StatPearls

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157: H7, is an enterohemorrhagic bacterial strain that is an important food and a waterborne pathogen that causes diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) in humans. Transmission is via the fecal-oral route after consumption of contaminated, undercooked liquids, foods, and by person-to-person through fecal shedding.